2021 Nissan X-Trail previewed in design patent filing

The next-generation Nissan X-Trail SUV, set to be revealed later this year, has been previewed in a patent filed by the manufacturer in Brazil.

The images lack detail, but it’s apparent that the Skoda Kodiaq rival will take heavy styling influence from the recently revealed Juke as Nissan seeks to implement a familiar look across its model range. The main changes are at the front, where Nissan has squared off the current car’s rounded nose.

Tweaks at the rear look to be much more subtle. There’s a gently restyled version of the current car’s bootlid, a reshaped spoiler and a new ‘double bubble’ roof design, but the overall silhouette looks remarkably similar.

Prototypes for the new US-market version of the X-Trail, the Nissan Rogue, were spotted testing late last year and hinted at the design of the fourth-generation X-Trail, with a more prominent grille and larger wheel arches.

Inside, the new Rogue has more technology than the outgoing model. The instruments are digital for the first time. Other additions include an updated infotainment system, large touchscreen display with sat-nav features and a black and chrome set-in-place gearstick. These details are also expected to be carried over to the new X-Trail.

The X-Trail is likely to keep both petrol and diesel powertrains, as well as offering a hybrid variant, as Nissan moves towards its target of selling one million electrified vehicles a year by 2022 in line with tough new CO2 regulations. A hybrid Rogue is already available in the US.

The large SUV was originally meant to be built in Nissan’s Sunderland plant, but in 2019, Nissan cancelled its plans, citing the diesel sales downturn and Brexit uncertainty as two key factors. However, production of the second-generation has remained at the plant.